The present invention is directed to a strip handling apparatus for use in conjunction with a scroll shear having a double set of cutting edges.
Scroll shears having dies with a single set of cutting edges and dies with a double set of cutting edges are well known for manufacturing round ends for cylindrical containers. As is known in the art, a scroll shear having a single set of cutting edges produces a strip of material from which two rows of can ends may be produced and a scroll shear having a double set of cutting edges produces a strip of material from which a single row of can ends may be produced. The terms "over-the-die", "through-the-die" and "butt-strip" are terms well known in the art of manufacturing can ends. The term "over-the-die" means a cut strip of material falling on the scroll shear piler side of the scroll shear, that is, strip material passing over the double set of cutting edges and falling directly onto the scroll shear piler. The term "through-the-die" is used in describing the cut strip material which falls between or through the cutting edges of a scroll shear having a double set of cutting edges. The term "butt-strip" is used in describing a cut strip of material falling on the infeed side of the cutting edges of a scroll shear having a double set of cutting edges, and of necessity, is the last strip of material cut during the cutting of strips from a sheet of material.
When a sheet of material is cut by a scroll shear having a single set of cutting edges, all of the strips of material fall "over-the-die". In such an embodiment, the over-the-die cut strip of material is directed onto the scroll shear piler for stacking in a stacking box, as is well known in the art. However, when a sheet of material is cut by a scroll shear having a double set of cutting edges, some of the cut strips of material fall over-the-die, some fall through-the-die, and some, called butt-strips, fall on the infeed side of the scroll shear. In such a situation, conventional scroll shear piler devices cannot handle strips of material cut from dies having a double set of cutting edges since such devices can only handle strips of material that fall over-the-die. Accordingly, scroll shear pilers have been prevented from being used in conjunction with scroll shears having a double set of cutting edges. Thus, the manual labor required in positioning and stacking the various types of cut strip materials obtained from a scroll shear having a double set of cutting edges has limited the net production and increased the personnel required as compared to a scroll shear having a single set of cutting edges equipped with a conventional scroll shear piler.